Pop Sweep: December 28, 2013...

Hey gang, it's time to kick off the first of today's "chart sweeps" sampling the songs making the various weekly music charts in Billboard magazine, and as always I'll begin with the pop side of things...

On the "big chart", Billboard's Hot 100, which combines sales, radio airplay, and internet streaming, Eminem and Rihanna spend a second week at #1 with "The Monster"...

The top debut is the tenth and final "Music Mondays" single from Justin Bieber, as "Confident" with Chance the Rapper enters at #41 (yes, right under the top-40). The first three of the ten did reach the top-40, with "Heartbreaker" going to #13...

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I hate to have to do this. Because of Billboard's incorporation of YouTube views (of any length) into the chart positions, things like this happen; Rebecca Black, provider of the hideous "Friday" song, enters at #55 with, of course, "Saturday" (featuring YouTube star Dave Days). I'd love to see sales figures on this, since obviously almost all of its "points" must be coming from YouTube, and I'm sure the majority of people clicking on it aren't listening to the whole thing. Just sayin'. Well at least I can say it's an entire song, as opposed to their habit of including snippets used on unofficial meme clips as chart fodder. BTW "Friday" made it to #58 in 2011 (when only radio and sales counted). If anything, the AutoTune machine should be the one getting a "featured credit" here...

The winner of the just-finished season of The Voice, Jamaican native Tessanne Chin, comes in at #64 with her semifinal performance of the Simon & Garfunkel classic "Bridge Over Troubled Water" (which is a perfect sign of why I stopped watching the show - it became rote with overdone song choices like this oversung by a backup ringer who will be forgotten in a few months)...

Glee cast member Lea Michele strikes out on her own with her first solo non-show work, "Cannonball" at #75....

Aloe Blacc, the voice behind Avicii's top-10 hit "Wake Me Up!", debuts at #85 with his first solo hit "The Man", my "Pop Pick of the Week"...

The runner-up to Tessanne Chin on The Voice, Jacquie Lee, comes in at #87 with her version of Sarah McLachlan's "Angel". The original went to #4 in 1999....

R. Kelly returns at #89 with "My Story" featuring rapper 2 Chainz. It's the first single from his just-released twelfth solo album Black Panties. (Surely on your mom's Christmas list)....

The final entry on the Hot 100 is from rapper Childish Gambino, the performing moniker of actor Donald Glover of Community. "V.3005" enters at #99. It's the second track from his Because The Internet to make the chart; "I.Crawl" went to #86...

And now on to the pop radio format charts...

On the Mainstream Top-40 radio panel, "The Monster" also spends its second week on top...

The first entry at #36 is from just-announced former X Factor judge, Demi Lovato, with "Neon Lights", the third single from her Demi album...

Chris Brown comes in at #39 with "Love More" with a cameo from Nicki Minaj (she's been pretty scarce lately, what gives...)

The last entry at #40 is Avicii's follow-up to his #1 hit "Wake Me Up!". "Hey Brother" features Dan Tyminski on uncredited vocals...

Meanwhile, on the older-skewing Adult Top-40 format, OneRepublic climbs to #1 with "Counting Stars". It's their third trip to the top after their debut "Apologize" with Timbaland and "Good Life"...

The sole entry at #40 is neo-soul singer/songwriter John Legend with "All Of Me"..

Lastly, on the Adult Contemporary (or easy-listening) chart, Kelly Clarkson jingles up a third week on top with "Underneath The Tree"...

Italian operatic pop trio Il Volo chimes in at #27 with "O Holy Night"....

...and at #30 are the American Authors with "The Best Day Of My Life"...

 That's it for the start of today's musical journey...I'll return in 90 minutes with the latest on rock radio...